Want to get involved? See the handbook and optionally drop into #design to chat. Most active design work happens in the block editor project, consider dropping into Needs design or Needs design feedback.
There’s a WordPress Component Library in Figma. Duplicate to edit, direct access is reserved for the design team.
WordPress 5.8 (released last week 🎉) brings the power of GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ blocks to widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. areas — which means highly customizable layout and styling options, and a more WYSIWYGWhat You See Is What You Get What You See Is What You Get. Most commonly used in relation to editors, where changes made in edit mode reflect exactly as they will translate to the published page. editing experience. I made a test site based on oldie-but-goodie Twenty Sixteen theme, which has 3 separate widget areas to work with. In this post, I’ll highlight a few cool things that are now possible to do with your widgets, and a take a look at where things may be heading next.
Appearance-wise, users have a lot more control over widgets areas than ever before — especially through the use of blocks with tons of customization options like the Cover and Image blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience.. Here’s what I’m able to create in the classic widgets editor (above) versus what I’m able to create in the new block-based widget editor (below).
Container blocks like Cover and Columns make it really easy to weave dynamic or interactive elements into your designs. While dynamic/interactive elements are sort of a given for many types of widgets, the block versions of widgets can be easily wrapped and layered within container blocks to more fully integrate them into your layout.
In the example below, I tried placing a Search block in front of a Cover block, which creates a nice layered effect. I also tried inserting Custom HTMLHTML HTML is an acronym for Hyper Text Markup Language. It is a markup language that is used in the development of web pages and websites. blocks within a Columns block to display different messaging depending on the time of day. (jQuery script here)
Classic widgets have always had a lockup that includes a widget title. One cool thing about having blocks in widget areas is that you have complete flexibility over how titles appear. For example, you might choose to have a title over every widget, you might only want one title at the top of each widget area, or your design might not need titles at all.
Note: Some themes, like Twenty Twenty-One, are designed to flow content horizontally within widget areas. If you’re having trouble with a theme splitting your layout into columns, you could try keeping the lockup together by containing it within a Group block.
While patterns haven’t been fully integrated into the widget editors yet, one thing you can do is copy and paste patterns from the game-changing new WordPress Pattern Directory into your site’s widget areas. I used this horizontal call to action pattern from the directory almost exactly as is, with minor color and copy adjustments:
There is some early discussions about how patterns can begin to be integrated into the widget editors in GitHub issue #26170. Some of the conversation has been around introducing a Patterns tab into the inserter, which would allow users to browse patterns the same way as in the post editor.
A couple of goals for introducing pattern insertion UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. into the widget editors are:
Based on this, I’ve been exploring ways that patterns could be surfaced in the quick inserter as a default/resting state as soon as the popover is opened:
How would you like to see patterns incorporated into the new block-based widget editors? Join the discussion by opening a new issue on GitHub or commenting below!
As noted in an earlier Gutenberg design update, I wanted to communicate a proposed UXUX UX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it. flow for rolling out the widgets-to-blocks interface changes. It’s a proposal and still up for discussion along with further communication in the GithubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ PR, Add blocks in widget areas RFC.
The Github issues include: wp-admin interface and the Customizer.
Widgets are now blocks which require a new GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ interface to help people transition to this new paradigm. What is the best way to introduce the new widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user.-blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. screens to users? How can we do this with the least amount of development time, use existing patterns, and clearly communicate the gradual transition to blocks?
I began by segmenting the use cases:
My initial work included using different menu items in wp-admin and the CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. based on if the user had existing widgets in their site. A user with existing widgets would need more help transitioning to a new interface than a user without any prior widget paradigms.
After further investigation of this, I opted out. If the menu items segmented, it might cause more confusion because there would be some users with the new menu items while another may have the old. Documentation and internet tutorials could get difficult to follow at that point. I’d like to do this with the least amount of development time, and confusion on the user’s end.
To achieve a simple and non-confusing rollout, keeping the wp-admin menu items the same might be the best option. The user would still see “Widgets” under the “Appearance” menu item. When clicking that to view the widgets, the user would now get the new Gutenberg Widget Areas screen.
We’d need to make sure the proper messaging or tips are displayed on this page to help orient the user to the new layout.
This scenario would work similarly to the one above. When clicking into the Customizer, the user would still see “Widgets” as an option if the Theme provides it. This shouldn’t require any additional work on the part of the theme outside what is currently required. Once clicked the user sorts through the blocks and can add 3rd party unconverted widgets with the Legacy Widget block.
So that everyone’s aware, the discussions around why blocks are being introduced in the widget screens is already explained in the Github issues, and in comments on other sites. This is one of the 9 projects for 2019, and aims at helping everyone slowly make the transition to the block paradigm.
The feedback I’m looking for here is:
Hey folks 👋
We’ve gotten some general feedback that the context switch makes it feel different from adding an image to a page or a post, so people are having some trouble finding where in the image widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. to add a link. I ran a couple usability tests on the existing image widget, as well as this PR from @timmydcrawford to expose the link within the widget itself. We wanted to compare both versions and see which one was easier.
I want to share the test details, some stats, and finally some conclusions I found from testing, which I’ve summarized into a list organized by 👓 observations, 💡 ideas, and 🐛 bugs.
If you’re interested, you can view all the videos in this Cloudup gallery. They’re very short! Almost all of them are between five and eight minutes long, with one longer outlier of 11 minutes.
I’ve tested the Widget Customizer 0.14 pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party with the Twenty Fourteen theme on WordPress r27060.
User Testing the WidgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. 0.13 PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party
I’ve tested the Widget Customizer 0.13 plugin with the Twenty Fourteen theme on WordPress r26863.
No trouble adding a text widget. She clicks “Save & Pubilsh” a lot—seems to assume it’s needed to see the changes. (0:23)
No trouble reordering widgets, but again hesitates when looking for right vs left sidebarSidebar A sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme.. (0:56)
No trouble removing widgets. (1:01)
She has no idea what sidebar is which. The quick red glow seems to have helped a bit. (0:31)
Scrollbar jumps back to the top, not sure what she did to trigger that. (0:12)
She expected the new widgets to be added to the top. (0:18)
Has some trouble reading the “Twenty Fourteen Ephemera” widget description at the bottom of the slide-out panel. (0:17)
It doesn’t seem to bother her that all the widget controls stay open — but boy does it feel messy. (0:19)
Its not clear, at first, how to exit the customizer. But she gets it eventually. (0:33)
If you’d like to see the full video, you can download it here: 2b86a9a1.mp4 (9:25)
Next up: a couple more tests with version 0.14 of this plugin.
Let’s keep going with the work on widgets! I’ve tested the Better Widgets 0.1 pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party with the Twenty Eleven theme on WordPress 3.7.1 and there is some interesting stuff in the results.
No problem rearranging widgets:
No problem deleting widgets:
Unsure where to go when asked to add a bio to the sidebar:
Drag-and-drop misfires:
Completely misses the pre-expanded “main sidebar” widgets (longest clip at 4:11):
Wants to know how to add more widgets from the Widgets screen:
Reasons for picking search and calendar widgets:
Slow customizer is slow, takes ~24s for this user to load it up:
If you’d like to see the full video, you can download it here: Better Widgets v0.1
Next up: same test, except run it on WP 3.8 trunk. What specifics are you interested in finding out from tests like these?
I’ve analyzed user testing for two videos shaunandrews kicked off for v1 of Widgets + MP6. The clips represent the main points of interest and user confusion from the tests and range from 12 to 49 seconds, so they should be quick and easy to watch.
Expects clicking “Save” will close the widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user.:
Troubles with drag and drop:
Hover tip proves useful when figuring out the MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. widget:
No trouble with drag and drop to add a widget:
Expects widget to close after saving:
If you’d like to see the full videos, you can download them here: Widgets+MP6 001, Widgets+MP6 002.
Key Observations
Just because a couple users mention they’d like to see a widget area close after saving doesn’t necessarily mean you should do that. Additional testing in situations where someone is working for a longer time with one particular widget and may want to save periodically would be good. Adding some other visual indicator to show when saving is finished might be sufficient, as opposed to closing the widget on save.
Howdy!
The widgets team has been working hard! We’ve spent some time working with (and joining) the MP6 team to get a redesigned widgets screen into the latest version of MP6. If you haven’t seen it yet, download (or update) MP6, and you’ll get this beauty:
We’ve also created a new pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party named Widget Area Chooser, which lets you click to add a widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. to any of your sidebars:
We’ve also made some great progress on the Widget Customizer plugin, which lets you manage your widgets from within the customizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings.:
How can you help?
This week, we’ll be focusing on getting the Widget Customizer plugin updated to let you add new widgets. If you want to join in, you can head over to GitHub and submit some patches, do some testing and add an issue, or just drop your ideas/thoughts. Or, you can just post a comment below and we’ll add you to our group Skype chat.
Also, we’d love some code review on the Widget Area Chooser plugin.
We’ll be meeting next week in #wordpress-ui at our normal time, October 28 @ 20:00 UTC.
We had our weekly chat yesterday. If you weren’t there, you can always check out those cool log things.
A few highlights:
Our next steps:
I’ll be out of town next week. While I encourage everyone to meet in IRC, our next official meeting will be in two weeks on October 7th, 2013 @ 20:00 UTC.
We had our weekly widgets chat in #wordpress-ui on Monday, check the logs for the full transcript.
Short and sweet. Lets keep the conversation going on the comments here, in skype, and in IRC. See you next week. Same bat time; Same bat channel.
You must be logged in to post a comment.